By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Southeast of Saline basketball teams will open their 2023-24 campaigns on the road this Friday, as they travel to Hesston to square off with the Swathers.
This matchup has provided some electric basketball to tip off the season for the last three years on both sides, and this season should be no different.
Girls game (6:00): SE of Saline (0-0) vs. #5 Hesston (0-0)
The Lady Trojans are coming off of a second-straight 19+ win campaign, and will be eager to pick up where they left off against a Hesston squad that finished out the year 17-6.
These two foes have met four times in the last three years, splitting the series 2-2, with Southeast holding the last two wins, including a 49-36 victory in last year’s opener.
Despite losing several key pieces, the Lady Trojans return three senior starters in Maddie Harris, Brielle Ptacek, and Lexi Jacobson, who they will lean on early in the year as the rest of the rotation falls into place.
“Four of our girls have a ton of varsity experience and they’ve been in tough games before,” SES head coach Shauna Smith said. “Our size is still a concern though, and it could hurt us against a few big inside players for Hesston.”
The Swathers will likely lean on a pair of their own veterans in Kendal Brueggen and Abby Proctor, who gave opposing defenses trouble throughout their run last season.
“Hesston is always well coached and they’ve always had a winning program,” Smith said. “They’ll come out and compete hard and we know their two best players and we’ve seen both improve over the summer.”
In addition to solidifying a rotation and limiting the playmaking ability of Brueggen and Proctor, SES must convert the opportunities their good ball movement provides to avoid falling behind early.
“We need to run efficient offense and get good looks throughout,” she said. We’re good about getting good looks we just have to make the most of them.”
Boys Game: #3 SE of Saline (0-0) at #2 Hesston (0-0)
The Trojans are coming off of yet another impressive season themselves, having finished third at state with an overall record of 24-2.
While Southeast is in the midst of yet another dominant stretch as a team, they will be in search of new players to lead them, after losing their whole starting five, and several key rotation players, to graduation.
“We’ve progressed from day one to where we are now and that growth has been encouraging but we’re still far from where we need to be,” SES head coach Bryson Flax said. “Around this time people want to start playing games and it’ll be nice to go out and compete.”
Hesston will once again represent a tall task for the Trojans to overcome, as the Swathers have won four of their last five matchups against Southeast, including last year’s 3A state semifinal.
One big piece back for Southeast comes in the form of Daniel Kejr, whose leadership will be invaluable this season.
“Daniel will have to be the level head of our group and he needs to be the one to run the show,” Flax said. “I don’t necessarily expect him to shoot a lot of shots but he has to facilitate and demand that guys are in the right spots.”
In order to overcome a frustrating foe tonight and start the season with a big win, the Trojans must take care of the basketball, and quickly solve the mystery of where their points will come from this season.
“They’ve always been really good at creating live ball turnovers, that’s embedded in their program,” he said. “We’ll have to be intentional about not making soft passes or we’ll be made to pay for that.”
Broadcast Information
- Radio: KINA (910 AM/107.5 FM)
- Live Stream: Salina Post
- Pregame: 5:30 PM